I LOVE L.A. (TROUBLE IN PARADISE, 1983)
Randy Newman has said that 'before shows like The Simpsons, irony was not very well understood in the States'. His song about Los Angeles, I Love L.A., became the city's unoffical anthem. It was used in a Nike advert and is played after every LA Dodgers home victory. The song shows his dislike of Santa Monica Boulevard ('Ugly from start to finish') and is a tongue-in-cheek "homage" to the car-cruising, sun-worshipping LA culture. Newman (above, honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Los Angeles, in 2010) said: ”Yeah, it‘s so chamber of commerce – Imperial Highway! – it’s just funny. But there‘s some kind of ignorance L.A. has that I’m proud of. The open car and the redhead and the Beach Boys, the night just cooling off after a hot day."